At 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, Colin Kaepernick's $11.9 million base salary for the 2016 season became guaranteed.

Now, whether Kaepernick receives that money as a member of the San Francisco 49ers or with a different team that might acquire the quarterback in a trade remains to be seen.

Kaepernick still could make less money from any acquiring team should he agree to a pay cut as part of the deal. It had been reported that Kaepernick's salary would not become guaranteed until Friday, but with the league day ending at 4 p.m. ET, the calendar flips to the next day -- hence the contract status changing Thursday.